Seat with a vertical rubber panel

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a seat with a vertical rubber panel, which is suitable for use preferably in public buildings such as waiting rooms, bus shelters or railway stations.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention provides a seat, which is suitable for use in public buildings such as waiting rooms, bus shelters or railway stations.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Seats in public buildings or public places are often made of plastic shells, which are mounted, on metal frames. As a result of vandalism or environmental effects these are often unsightly and are not inviting to sit on.

[0003] Another alternative is to use metal shells, generally metal meshes that are used in the form of a seating section on a frame. These provide very limited seating comfort, comparable to that provided by the wooden benches, which are also used in these situations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] The object of the present invention is the provision of a structure, which combines resistance to vandalism with seating comfort.

[0005] The present invention is directed to a seat containing a vertical rubber panel which is mounted upright in a retention frame in such a way that some of the rubber panel projects above the retention frame, wherein the part projecting above the retention frame can be bent in such a way that it forms a horizontal sitting area.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006]FIG. 1 illustrates a side view of the seat together with the retention frame.

[0007]FIG. 2 illustrates a front view of the seat together with the retention frame.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] The rubber panel (1) contains a mixture of rubber with fillers and additives.

[0009] Suitable rubbers include chloroprene rubber, ethylene/propylene/diene rubber (EPDM), ethylene/vinyl acetate/rubber (EVM), hydrogenated nitrile rubber (HNBR) and blends thereof.

[0010] Suitable fillers include carbon black, silica, magnesium and/or aluminum hydroxides and blends thereof.

[0011] Suitable additives include plasticizers such as esters, ethers and/or mineral oils. Suitable additives are disclosed in Handbuch für die Gummiindustrie, 2nd ed., Bayer AG, Germany, p. 469-483.

[0012] The rubber, filler and additives can be adjusted to the strength and flexibility required for the particular rubber panels. This lies within the abilities of a person skilled in the art and reference may also be made to Encyclopedia of Polymer Science and Engineering, vol. 4, p. 66 et seq. (Compounding).

[0013] The following rubbers are preferably suitable for producing the preferred flame-resistant rubber panels: EVM, HNBR or blends of the two.

[0014] The following fillers are preferably suitable for producing flame-resistant rubber panels: Mg(OH)₂ or Al(OH)₃ or blends of the two.

[0015] The following additives are preferably suitable for producing flame-resistant rubber panels: phosphates.

[0016] It is possible to mix plastics such as polyolefins (PE, PP), polystyrene, polyethylene terephthalate or recycled plastics with the rubbers. The proportion of plastic materials, which may be useful, is governed by the specific ultimate application of the rubber panel and the quality requirements for the mechanical properties such as elasticity and strength.

[0017] Generally, in the region of 20 to 320 phr of fillers and in the region of 10 to 80 phr of additives are used per 100 parts of rubber (phr).

[0018] Another alternative for exerting an effect on the mechanical properties of the rubber panels is to adjust the degree of cross-linking of the rubber/rubber mixture used. At this point, reference is made to the Encyclopedia of Polymer Science and Engineering vol. 17, p. 666, et seq. (vulcanization). In the range of 1 to 15 phr of Cross-linking agents are normally used.

[0019] It is preferable to use a composite material for the rubber panel. This means that the plastic panel is not built up exclusively from one continuous layer of rubber, but has a layered structure.

[0020] This structure may contain two or more layers. Here, several rubber layers made of the same or of different rubbers may be joined together. The rubber layers preferably contain reinforcing materials such as glass fiber fabrics, textile fabrics, metal fabrics, and fiber fabrics such as Kevlar® which is a trademark of and supplied by DuPont de Nemours & Company or Twaron® which is a trademark of and supplied by Twaron Products. In the present invention a fabric is understood to be any possible arrangements such as individual fibers, nets, mats, ropes, cables etc.

[0021] It is also possible to introduce the reinforcing materials as an intermediate layer between the rubber layers. In this case, one or more intermediate layers may be present in the structure.

[0022] A combination of non-reinforced rubber layers and reinforced rubber layers and/or intermediate layers are preferred.

[0023] Hard, relatively inflexible rubber panels are also suitable to provide an opportunity for leaning on the structure if the user does not want to sit down.

[0024] The retention frame (2) is used to anchor the rubber panel (1) to the substrate and enables vertical positioning of the rubber panel in the unoccupied status. This means that rain and snow run off and no water collects on the sitting area. The retention frame is preferably made of metal. Furthermore, it is preferred that the retention frame is not solid, but is a framework in which the rubber panel rests.

[0025] As depicted In FIGS. 1 and 2 the rubber panel (1) stands vertically in the rights angled retention frame (2). The rubber panel is mounted in the retention frame by means of fastening devices (4) and a region (3) of the rubber panel can be folded down to form a seat.

[0026] Depending on the hardness and modulus of region (3), the rubber panel can either be automatically bent forward into a seat when a user leans against the upper part of the of the rubber panel or the rubber panel can be bent backwards to provide support to the users lower back.

[0027] The retention frame is preferably constructed so that the rubber panel is entirely or partly supported when in the bent-over position. If several seats are used alongside each other, then the supports may also be designed so that the adjacent rubber panel is supported in the bent-over condition.

[0028] The height of retention is generally chosen so that the retainer finishes at most at the height where the sitting area is intended to be produced.

[0029] Due to its structure, the seat described here is very resistant to vandalism and to environmental effects such as rain, snow and bird droppings. Thus, it is especially suitable for use in the open air and is used as public seating in places such as parks, waiting rooms, railway stations, bus shelters and airports.

EXAMPLES

[0030] Flame resistance was determined according to DIN 4102

[0031] Methods of Measurement:

[0032] Vinyl acetate content: IR spectroscopy

[0033] Residual double bond content: IR spectroscopy

[0034] Mooney viscosity: ASTM D 1646 (cited in ME)(ML 1+4 (100° C.))

[0035] Volatile constituents (wt. %): ASTM D 1416

[0036] Ash content (wt. %): ASTM D 1416

[0037] Acrylonitrile (ACN) content is measured according to the method given below: (wt. % bonded in the polymer)

[0038] Brief Description of Method for Determining ACN:

[0039] During analysis, the rubber is pyrolyzed on a catalyst at 900° C. in a stream of oxygen. The unconsumed oxygen is absorbed in a copper reduction reactor and the NO-X gases formed are reduced to nitrogen. Then CO₂ present is extracted from the analysis gas stream in a Na₂CO₃/NaOH trap and the water present is extracted in a MgClO₄ trap. The change in thermal conductivity of the analysis gas, as compared with the carrier gas stream, is a measure of the nitrogen content of the sample.

[0040] Equipment for Method Described Above:

[0041] Protein analyzer, Fisons, model NA 2000

[0042] Micro-scales, Sartorius, model Micro

[0043] Evaluation unit, Digital, model DECpc Lpx 433 dx with interfaces to NA 2000 and weighing interface, and also EAGER 200 software.

[0044] Chemicals and Solvents for Method Described Above:

[0045] Methionine, Hekatech TABLE 1 Constituents of formulation for the invention: Constituent Supplier Description Therban ® A 4307 Bayer AG 34% ACN, max. 0.9% RDB, 70 ME Levapren ® 700 HV Bayer AG 70% VA content, 27 ME Rhenogran P50 Rhein Chemie, Polycarbodiimide Rheinau GmbH stabilizer Silquest ® RC-1 Witco Silane coupling agent Apyral ® B 120 Nabaltec, Germany aluminum hydroxide Zinc stearate Fettchemie zinc stearate Zinc borate Kynol, Germany zinc borate Vulkanox ® DDA Bayer AG SDPA, antioxidant DOS Antraca, Germany Rhenofit ® TRIM/S Rhein Chemie trimethylolpropane Rheinau GmbH trimethacrylate, 70% bonded to silica Perkadox ® 14/40 Akzo peroxide

[0046] Preparing the Mixtures:

[0047] The mixtures were prepared in a laboratory compounder GK 1.5 E (Krupp Elastomertechnik, Hamburg), temperature of cooling water 50° C., speed of blades 50 rpm, plunger pressure 6 bar, degree to which compounder is filled 70-80% with respect to volume of chamber in the compounder.

[0048] Mixing sequence: rubber introduced initially; after 1 min running time ½ remaining constituents added; after 2 minutes the 2nd half of the remaining constituents added; compounder emptied at a batch temperature of <140° C. The peroxide was post-mixed on a roller (Krupp Elastomertechnik, roll diameter 200 mm, working width 350 mm) at 40° C. cooling water temperature.

[0049] The sheets for determining the mechanical properties were cross-linked/vulcanized between Teflon films, under the conditions cited, in a vulcanizing press (Krupp Elastomertechnik). TABLE 2 Testing the mixtures Value Dimensions Properties Test Standard F Mpa Tensile strength DIN 53504 D % Extension at break DIN 53504 H Shore A/D Hardness DIN 53404 WW N/mm Tear propagation ASTM/D 4070 resistance LOI Limiting oxygen ASTM/D 2863 index

EXAMPLE 1

[0050] Mixtures 1 a and 1 b were prepared from the feedstocks described in Table 3 as described in the section “Preparing the mixture”, and tested.

[0051] The test results are given in Table 4. TABLE 3 Mixture 1a 1b Therban A 3407 50 100 Levapren 700 HV 50 — Rhenogran P50 3 — Silquest RC 1 2 2 Apyral B 120 190 190 Zinc stearate 1 1 Zinc borate 10 10 Vulkanox DDA 1.9 1.9 DOS 6 6 TRIM 0.7 0.7 Perkadox 14/40 6 6 Parts by wt. - total 319.7 316.7

[0052] TABLE 4 Vulcanization properties 1a 1b Vulcanization 20 min/170° C. F (MPa) 10.9 13.9 D (%) 235 275 H (Sh. A) 77 76 WW (N/mm) 4.0 5.8 LOI 43 42

[0053] Although the invention has been described in detail in the foregoing for the purpose of illustration, it is to be understood that such detail is solely for that purpose and that variations can be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention except as it may be limited by the claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A seat comprising a vertical rubber panel which is mounted upright in a retention frame, wherein a portion of the rubber panel projects above the retention frame, wherein the part of the rubber panel projecting above the retention frame can be bent in such a way that it forms a horizontal sitting area.
 2. A seat according to claim 1, wherein the rubber panel comprises one or more flame-resistant rubbers.
 3. A seat according to one of claim 1, wherein the rubber panel comprises a composite material.
 4. An open air seat comprising a vertical rubber panel which is mounted upright in a retention frame, wherein a portion of the rubber panel projects above the retention frame, wherein the part of the rubber panel projecting above the retention frame can be bent in such a way that it forms a horizontal sitting area. 